My GF rides an old schwinn world sport around town. It's a nice looking bike, but the paint is very faded, and I'd like to get it repainted, in a totally different, non-restoration paint scheme.

I've never done this before, but my understanding is that my two options are to have the frameset either powder coated or repainted (after sanding everything down of course).

I want a pretty, metallic, almost-anodized look - sounds like a repaint job would get this look vs. powder-coating, right? I'm also looking to have the lugs a different color than the tubes. Any recommendations for a good local powder coat and paint shop? How much can I expect to spend?

The bike itself is probably worth $50 max, but it has lots of sentimental value so I want to do it up right!

I remembered seeing something about powder coating on the boards of a car club I belong to. Did a little search and found these two receommendations from club members (tell them the Shelby Club sent you). Not bike specific, but I thought it might help...

"I've had some parts done at Gilbert Spray Coat in Santa Clara. The turn around time was fantastic. Talk to Todd (He's a friend of Joe Silva's). (408)988-0747"

"To both John's questions regarding powder coating and thermal coating we at
the Mustang Ranch regulaly use Spray Tech in Santa Clara talk to Joe at
408-727-0680 Very reasonable prices and excellant quality."

I remembered seeing something about powder coating on the boards of a car club I belong to. Did a little search and found these two receommendations from club members (tell them the Shelby Club sent you). Not bike specific, but I thought it might help...

"I've had some parts done at Gilbert Spray Coat in Santa Clara. The turn around time was fantastic. Talk to Todd (He's a friend of Joe Silva's). (408)988-0747"

"To both John's questions regarding powder coating and thermal coating we at
the Mustang Ranch regulaly use Spray Tech in Santa Clara talk to Joe at
408-727-0680 Very reasonable prices and excellant quality."

Lance

Lance,

Do you AutoX? Your avatar looks like a car that is occasionally at SFR SCCA events.

I don't know if they can do the two-tone thing, but give 'em a call. $75 for frame and fork to be bead-blasted and coated with your choice of color. They can do metallic and special colors for a few extra $ but if they dont have the stuff on hand it might take a few more days to get it ordered.

I also got two frames painted at Maas Tech in Hayward. They did a good job, especially for the price, but it didn't strike me as the kind of place that would do detail work -- i.e., the lugs painted a different color than the tubes. But I didn't ask for anything like that, so who knows?

Sycip, a frame-builder in Petaluma, also does powdercoating. I'm sure they are more expensive than Maas Tech, but also probably do a lot more painting of bicycles, and may be a better choice if you're looking something more intricate than just a one-color job.

Maas Brother's in Livermore does a lot of bicycle stuff. My impression is that it's good to go with someone who's experienced with bikes, so you don't have to worry about them media-blasting through your thin tubes.